tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-971547680593307592018-03-05T08:05:59.181-08:00On the S OR CoastBrenda on the S OR Coasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167479739607662663noreply@blogger.comBlogger161125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97154768059330759.post-24964296356366567212015-06-01T15:40:00.005-07:002015-06-01T15:46:49.391-07:00Going Home<h3><img alt="Brenda Langlie" src="http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/theworldlink.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/6/4b/64b1e493-1e54-5ade-a155-404e60b6ee24/5526d59686f81.image.jpg" height="266" id="image-index-1" width="400" />&nbsp;</h3><h3>March 8, 1970 – April 5, 2015</h3>Brenda Marie Langlie went home to Jesus April 5, 2015, after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. <br /><br />In September 2012, Brenda would accept a call to serve in her "dream job" as the Children's Ministry Director at her church to coordinate all those children's programs that she had actively served in. Just four months in service, she would be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Following that diagnosis, she would begin a journey looking for and finding God's grace and provision in the hardest and ugliest of times of surgery, radiation and chemotherapy.<br /><br />Brenda would spend the following months until February 2015, joyfully serving in ministry at home and church, while accepting her growing cancer as God's story for her life. All those who came in contact with Brenda, would be forever touched by her inviting, joyful personality, and her love for and trust in Jesus. It would be her kindness to all, faithfulness in ministry, and smiling face that would attract people to her and to Christ. She never hesitated in trust and faith in the author of her life's story.<br /><br />As the cancer spread, Brenda courageously embraced it, with the goal of "not wasting it." It was in her trusting that she found grace. She believed in the sovereignty of God and that suffering was not an absence of grace, but an opportunity to go deeper into a relationship with the Lord and the family of God. While doing treatment and continuing to serve full time in ministry at Skyline, Brenda would receive an additional call to serve in the women's ministry. A handful of women would accept an invitation to become a part of the dreaded 6:30 a.m. study group. To their surprise, their study group would connect them through the study of sound doctrine of suffering bathed in the sovereignty of almighty God. The group became the highlight of her week and theirs. She didn't waste her cancer in solitude, but instead invested in deeper relationships, and living her journey in public to honor Christ. Brenda believed that her cancer was designed by and a gift from God. Cherishing and witnessing to the truth and glory of Christ was more important than beating the cancer.Brenda on the S OR Coasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167479739607662663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97154768059330759.post-3980355453557358562011-04-26T12:07:00.000-07:002011-04-26T12:13:42.180-07:00Happy Easter!<iframe allowFullScreen='true' webkitallowfullscreen='true' mozallowfullscreen='true' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dz0ydWUkKF0sO9wFaeA7D_3WHSIZA5zglCLxVVTKBF4it8VSBkNmX55UKtvsez4Yqi0Z70xfSVsA_cn9swITw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' FRAMEBORDER='0' />Brenda on the S OR Coasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167479739607662663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97154768059330759.post-16452858848115460982010-09-01T19:44:00.000-07:002010-10-14T10:50:55.229-07:00New Camera!I have a new camera. Perhaps, this will help me to become a reformed blogger... Perhaps...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/TLZhOhAEV1I/AAAAAAAABaQ/8P8271TAGPE/s1600/9-1-10+031.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/TLZhOhAEV1I/AAAAAAAABaQ/8P8271TAGPE/s400/9-1-10+031.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527712494648579922" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/TLZg99lwnEI/AAAAAAAABaI/eHyMp-QliDg/s1600/September+21,+2010+085.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/TLZg99lwnEI/AAAAAAAABaI/eHyMp-QliDg/s400/September+21,+2010+085.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527712210265087042" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/TLZg9RrJK8I/AAAAAAAABaA/80XhKVDN748/s1600/September+21,+2010+029.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/TLZg9RrJK8I/AAAAAAAABaA/80XhKVDN748/s400/September+21,+2010+029.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527712198476508098" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/TLZg9Ly6ivI/AAAAAAAABZ4/GvMEI_FtH3M/s1600/September+21,+2010+009.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/TLZg9Ly6ivI/AAAAAAAABZ4/GvMEI_FtH3M/s400/September+21,+2010+009.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527712196898491122" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/TLZg87y7ZLI/AAAAAAAABZw/_4ZBhX2k5iE/s1600/September+21,+2010+004.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/TLZg87y7ZLI/AAAAAAAABZw/_4ZBhX2k5iE/s400/September+21,+2010+004.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527712192603579570" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/TLZg8SvfvPI/AAAAAAAABZo/XgOtKCBj_hg/s1600/Sept+26+2010+001.JPG"><br /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/TLZgKTkn4wI/AAAAAAAABZg/UsNHy48qdLI/s1600/September+21,+2010+085.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/TLZgKTkn4wI/AAAAAAAABZg/UsNHy48qdLI/s400/September+21,+2010+085.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527711322812703490" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/TLZgKGs3rhI/AAAAAAAABZY/IsqeZTzUTZE/s1600/September+21,+2010+058.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/TLZgKGs3rhI/AAAAAAAABZY/IsqeZTzUTZE/s400/September+21,+2010+058.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527711319357632018" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/TIFlIUkjy4I/AAAAAAAABZI/dwvda6vCJBY/s1600/9-3-10+002+%282%29.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/TIFlIUkjy4I/AAAAAAAABZI/dwvda6vCJBY/s400/9-3-10+002+%282%29.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512798612513606530" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/TH_VZstSg0I/AAAAAAAABY8/rGqpqz5kfmI/s1600/Micah+mischevious.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/TH_VZstSg0I/AAAAAAAABY8/rGqpqz5kfmI/s400/Micah+mischevious.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512359106399339330" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/TH_VZM8VBnI/AAAAAAAABY0/pPIDC2B3-fA/s1600/Micah+cranky.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/TH_VZM8VBnI/AAAAAAAABY0/pPIDC2B3-fA/s400/Micah+cranky.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512359097872483954" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/TH_VYvCR38I/AAAAAAAABYs/xSuGOpkZLXE/s1600/Micah+outside.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/TH_VYvCR38I/AAAAAAAABYs/xSuGOpkZLXE/s400/Micah+outside.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512359089844379586" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/TH_Tiip7beI/AAAAAAAABYk/5mwgvzK90Tw/s1600/Anna+backlit.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/TH_Tiip7beI/AAAAAAAABYk/5mwgvzK90Tw/s400/Anna+backlit.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512357059296456162" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/TH_TiGPbsBI/AAAAAAAABYc/1HlW6ojOGaY/s1600/Andrew+closeup.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/TH_TiGPbsBI/AAAAAAAABYc/1HlW6ojOGaY/s400/Andrew+closeup.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512357051669131282" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/TH_Thsr02JI/AAAAAAAABYU/ZkeG3jvVwWw/s1600/Andrew+Backlit.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/TH_Thsr02JI/AAAAAAAABYU/ZkeG3jvVwWw/s400/Andrew+Backlit.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512357044808898706" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/TH_ThO8iiuI/AAAAAAAABYM/pz1iBjFlbds/s1600/Micah+closeup.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/TH_ThO8iiuI/AAAAAAAABYM/pz1iBjFlbds/s400/Micah+closeup.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512357036825938658" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/TH8REiJ-3CI/AAAAAAAABYE/pRAQliHeAKQ/s1600/Micah%27s+tongue.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/TH8REiJ-3CI/AAAAAAAABYE/pRAQliHeAKQ/s400/Micah%27s+tongue.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512143238510599202" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/TH8RD_BWgaI/AAAAAAAABX8/60junaidhsk/s1600/Micah+Sweet.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/TH8RD_BWgaI/AAAAAAAABX8/60junaidhsk/s400/Micah+Sweet.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512143229079159202" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/TH8QRF3cRmI/AAAAAAAABX0/yQYaQCoFDu8/s1600/Micah+laughing.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/TH8QRF3cRmI/AAAAAAAABX0/yQYaQCoFDu8/s400/Micah+laughing.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512142354743314018" border="0" /></a>(Mary and her friend, Moriah)<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/TH8QQwfO3QI/AAAAAAAABXs/7EklmkTPpUw/s1600/Mary+and+Moriah.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/TH8QQwfO3QI/AAAAAAAABXs/7EklmkTPpUw/s400/Mary+and+Moriah.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512142349004627202" border="0" /></a>(Anna and her friend, Lindsay)<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/TH8QQc4N6WI/AAAAAAAABXk/GF4RJWehpms/s1600/Anna+and+Lindsay+Sliding.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 299px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/TH8QQc4N6WI/AAAAAAAABXk/GF4RJWehpms/s400/Anna+and+Lindsay+Sliding.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512142343740713314" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/TH8QP-HsJhI/AAAAAAAABXc/b57voLgzMSM/s1600/Anna+and+Lindsay+bw.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/TH8QP-HsJhI/AAAAAAAABXc/b57voLgzMSM/s400/Anna+and+Lindsay+bw.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512142335484110354" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/TH8QPBt9xvI/AAAAAAAABXU/WFXUIXAXHgw/s1600/Andrew+Handsome.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/TH8QPBt9xvI/AAAAAAAABXU/WFXUIXAXHgw/s400/Andrew+Handsome.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512142319270086386" border="0" /></a>Brenda on the S OR Coasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167479739607662663noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97154768059330759.post-56916567978476502512010-03-24T09:07:00.000-07:002010-03-24T13:50:35.295-07:00The One Thing<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:130%;">A sweet reader sent me an email asking what the One Thing in my "about me" is. My reply follows:</span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><big style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">The One Thing is Jesus.</big><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"> </span><big style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"> Everything else pales in comparison to the importance of knowing Him, serving Him, following Him... being His. My responsibilities as wife, mother, friend, sister, employee, all need to be secondary to my love for Him. I have an older friend who says, "Don't sweat the small stuff... and it's ALL small stuff!" Everything but Jesus is temporary. Who I become in Him is eternal.</big><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Such a good reminder for ME!!</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Thank you for asking.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:130%;" >His,</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Brenda</span><br /></div><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:130%;" ><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His suffering, becoming like Him in His death...<br />~Philippians 4:10</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.<br />~I Corinthians 2:2</span></span><br /></div><big> </big>Brenda on the S OR Coasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167479739607662663noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97154768059330759.post-71220293862303730542010-01-29T11:11:00.000-08:002010-01-29T11:26:28.213-08:00High Desert Museum<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Over the Christmas holidays, we made a trip to the High Desert Museum, one of our favorite places. I took some pictures inside the Spirit of the West exhibit, where it's really dimly lit. So the pictures are not great, but the memories are bright and shiny!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/S2Mz4mFGUoI/AAAAAAAABW8/KCFPjllLI5o/s1600-h/Noah+at+the+HDMuseum.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/S2Mz4mFGUoI/AAAAAAAABW8/KCFPjllLI5o/s400/Noah+at+the+HDMuseum.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432242622926574210" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/S2Mz4KQw5iI/AAAAAAAABW0/qwn8FH3XzHc/s1600-h/Micah+at+HDMuseum.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/S2Mz4KQw5iI/AAAAAAAABW0/qwn8FH3XzHc/s400/Micah+at+HDMuseum.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432242615459309090" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/S2Mz3xL4cXI/AAAAAAAABWs/8HCWFIXn_us/s1600-h/Mary+at+HDMuseum.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/S2Mz3xL4cXI/AAAAAAAABWs/8HCWFIXn_us/s400/Mary+at+HDMuseum.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432242608727945586" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/S2Mz3aF9khI/AAAAAAAABWk/kJi2Ita-VgY/s1600-h/Andrew+at+HDMuseum.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/S2Mz3aF9khI/AAAAAAAABWk/kJi2Ita-VgY/s400/Andrew+at+HDMuseum.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432242602529100306" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/S2Mz3LD7MII/AAAAAAAABWc/DrdjrCZDs7k/s1600-h/7+kids+at+HDMuseum.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/S2Mz3LD7MII/AAAAAAAABWc/DrdjrCZDs7k/s400/7+kids+at+HDMuseum.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432242598494023810" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />See how I did that? Just blogged? I'll try to fill in some of the many things that happened in the months I was absent from this venue, but I'm mostly hoping to get back into the habit of sharing our "everydays."<br /><span class="highlight"></span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-style: italic;">Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever. ~Psalm 145:2</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><img src="http://media.salemwebnetwork.com/biblestudytools/skin/CW/Icon_CrossRef_wht_bg.gif" id="iconpopupCrossref2_4097" style="display: none; padding-right: 2px; cursor: pointer;" longdesc="[Ps. 146:2]" /></div>Brenda on the S OR Coasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167479739607662663noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97154768059330759.post-21743221737296947942009-10-29T10:31:00.000-07:002009-10-29T10:32:55.716-07:00Hello!<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Hello, Bloggity World!</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">I have neglected you so... </span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">forgive me?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Perhaps I can pop in here more often.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">There is surely plenty to share!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Love,</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Me</span><br /><br /></div>Brenda on the S OR Coasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167479739607662663noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97154768059330759.post-44628273780669818452009-08-27T20:37:00.000-07:002009-08-29T09:17:29.441-07:00Family Camp<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Our annual church Family Camp last weekend was the best ever for our family! We finally managed to last for two nights of camping and fun. It was great. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">I'm amazed at how much our family is changing as the children get older. It's so much easier now to do things like camping than it has been for us in about ten years! I can see all kinds of new adventures opening up before us.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">This year, we opted to let the big boys sleep in their own tent, next to ours, and the girlies were invited to share a tent with a couple of their best friends in the campsite next to ours. That left only Roger, Andrew, Micah and me in the big tent. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">It was wonderful! We slept much better. Well... we <span style="font-style: italic;">slept</span>... which was much better!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Roger was also kind enough to agree to keeping our menu super-simple, which allowed me to enjoy camping much more, rather than cooking and doing dishes all weekend. It worked out great!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">We also joined forces with another family. My friend, Jeanine, who was in my high school youth group 25 years ago, and her son, Ike, camped near us and we shared food and fellowship. She is the BEST. I have never seen so many hot dogs and marshmallows in one place, outside a grocery store, before! We had a blast sitting by the fire together in the morning as everyone else slept. And SHE built the fires before I got up! </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">I really did have a wonderful, relaxing weekend.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">I should have taken more pictures. I realized when I looked at them that I only really got one picture of Mary, for some reason. And it looks like this:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SpdS8aNZmzI/AAAAAAAABWM/6EdKKYAvfCo/s1600-h/Mary+staring.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 399px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SpdS8aNZmzI/AAAAAAAABWM/6EdKKYAvfCo/s400/Mary+staring.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374855878071130930" border="0" /></a>Which is, in fact, how the icy cold swimming hole made her feel. But it's a terrible picture! So I included these for her benefit:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SpdS83MoPBI/AAAAAAAABWU/rldE317iNiM/s1600-h/Mary%27s+profile.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SpdS83MoPBI/AAAAAAAABWU/rldE317iNiM/s400/Mary%27s+profile.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374855885852523538" border="0" /></a>Another terrible picture, but at least she's smiling, which she did almost the whole weekend! Here, she is chatting with friends while waiting for the evening service to start.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">And this one:</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SpdS7xbf_qI/AAAAAAAABWE/0wEHb0XYIwM/s1600-h/Mary+listening.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SpdS7xbf_qI/AAAAAAAABWE/0wEHb0XYIwM/s400/Mary+listening.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374855867124416162" border="0" /></a>Which is of the back of her cute, little head, while listening in the evening service... I guess I owe her a good photo shoot some time soon!</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Noah is a master marshmallow roaster. And he usually shares the best ones with me! He's an amazing kid! He was able to enjoy LOTS of freedom at camp to go and hang out with his friends, but he stuck pretty close for the most part, because he's such a great kid!</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SpdRVdY8unI/AAAAAAAABV0/KzP5cs6KHDw/s1600-h/noah+camping.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 399px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SpdRVdY8unI/AAAAAAAABV0/KzP5cs6KHDw/s400/noah+camping.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374854109398350450" border="0" /></a></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">The swimming proved to be too chilly for my swimming pool lovers. At least they played on the beach and they all gave it a try to some degree.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SpdRU2TUiyI/AAAAAAAABVs/mt1V4ajIGM0/s1600-h/Noah+and+Micah+at+swimmin+hole.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SpdRU2TUiyI/AAAAAAAABVs/mt1V4ajIGM0/s400/Noah+and+Micah+at+swimmin+hole.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374854098905762594" border="0" /></a>Micah LOVES playing in the water, but even he didn't get very wet in the river.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SpdRUaugViI/AAAAAAAABVk/3nQQAV3GZD4/s1600-h/Micah+at+swimmin+hole.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SpdRUaugViI/AAAAAAAABVk/3nQQAV3GZD4/s400/Micah+at+swimmin+hole.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374854091503588898" border="0" /></a>He did enjoy his buddy, Nathan, though. The family we camped next to has five adorable children. With us and with Jeanine and Ike, we made quite a conglomeration of little people!</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SpdRT1Fgz7I/AAAAAAAABVc/ZGVecepdMdw/s1600-h/Micah+and+Nathan.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 399px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SpdRT1Fgz7I/AAAAAAAABVc/ZGVecepdMdw/s400/Micah+and+Nathan.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374854081399541682" border="0" /></a>This is NOT a great picture of Jeanine, and I blinded her terribly when I took it with a flash as we were sitting around the campfire in the dark. But I had to capture her snuggling my little one off to sleep as we were singing worship songs around the campfire on Saturday. Too sweet!</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SpdRTgrBomI/AAAAAAAABVU/lV7IcZ_RN_4/s1600-h/Jeanine+and+Micah+camping.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SpdRTgrBomI/AAAAAAAABVU/lV7IcZ_RN_4/s400/Jeanine+and+Micah+camping.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374854075919737442" border="0" /></a>Daniel was the only one remotely brave enough to swim in the chilly water. We actually bribed him to swim across the river and jump off this old concrete foundation. I think he really enjoyed it... although he wouldn't have done it without "incentive."</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SpdRII03eVI/AAAAAAAABVM/jrGIAEvQiDc/s1600-h/Daniel+at+Swimmin+hole.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SpdRII03eVI/AAAAAAAABVM/jrGIAEvQiDc/s400/Daniel+at+Swimmin+hole.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374853880540002642" border="0" /></a>Anna had a great time with her friends!</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SpdRHqiwWtI/AAAAAAAABVE/i5HluDg7A2U/s1600-h/Anna+Camping.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SpdRHqiwWtI/AAAAAAAABVE/i5HluDg7A2U/s400/Anna+Camping.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374853872410974930" border="0" /></a>They made sand sculptures at the beach.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SpdRHJ8WHRI/AAAAAAAABU8/kkXUa7YAahg/s1600-h/Anna+at+swimmin+hole.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SpdRHJ8WHRI/AAAAAAAABU8/kkXUa7YAahg/s400/Anna+at+swimmin+hole.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374853863659937042" border="0" /></a>Andrew was born to camp. He LOVES playing outside and being dirty and eating junk food. He also managed to sleep until 10:00 both mornings, laying in a sleeping bag on the concrete pad where we pitched our tent. And he never once mentioned anything about it being uncomfortable. Ah, to be five again!</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SpdRGoXr8OI/AAAAAAAABU0/FMdCy6v_bco/s1600-h/Andrew+camping.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SpdRGoXr8OI/AAAAAAAABU0/FMdCy6v_bco/s400/Andrew+camping.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374853854647808226" border="0" /></a>He also loved the swimming hole, although he shivered the entire time we were there, in spite of it being like 90 degrees outside.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SpdRGP2fFsI/AAAAAAAABUs/1RZrNIQbylI/s1600-h/Andrew+at+Swimmin+hole.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SpdRGP2fFsI/AAAAAAAABUs/1RZrNIQbylI/s400/Andrew+at+Swimmin+hole.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374853848066102978" border="0" /></a>None of this family fun would have been possible without my amazing man. Roger and I have loved camping together since the beginning. We are doing it very differently now than we did when it was just the two of us, but we are finding that we are entering a new phase of our family, in which camping may again become one of our favorite things to do. </span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SpdRcUvO5jI/AAAAAAAABV8/1uNV7Gd9vUc/s1600-h/Roger+camping.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 399px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SpdRcUvO5jI/AAAAAAAABV8/1uNV7Gd9vUc/s400/Roger+camping.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374854227334981170" border="0" /></a>I can't wait for next summer!!</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);font-size:130%;" >..the LORD your God went ahead of you on your journey... to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go. ~Deuteronomy 1:32-33</span><br /><br /><br /><img src="http://media.salemwebnetwork.com/biblestudytools/skin/CW/Icon_CrossRef_wht_bg.gif" id="iconpopupCrossref33_77" style="display: none; padding-right: 2px; cursor: pointer;" longdesc="S Nu 10:33" /></div>Brenda on the S OR Coasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167479739607662663noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97154768059330759.post-23478399924768800132009-08-26T11:59:00.001-07:002009-08-27T09:35:27.569-07:00'Tis the Season!<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Cat fight? Barbed-wire incident? Over-zealous ex-foliating?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SpWGQ-RSGSI/AAAAAAAABUk/zY2boTqmZ9E/s1600-h/Blackberry+Arm.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 133px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SpWGQ-RSGSI/AAAAAAAABUk/zY2boTqmZ9E/s400/Blackberry+Arm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374349356488071458" border="0" /></a>Nope. Just time for some good-ole blackberry picking!<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-style: italic;">(Yes, Tami, that is MY ARM! It looked fine when I was done picking. The fine scratches don't really show up until the next day... It doesn't hurt, though.)</span></span><br /><br />My berry picking friend and I agreed that long, leather gloves with the finger tips cut out would be a great bit of gear for this job!<br /><br />It was well worth it, though. I came home with a couple of gallons of gorgeous, juicy berries - easily my best haul of the season to date.<br /><br />We made some jam. I say "we" because it was too much fun for anyone to miss.<br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;">(Jeanine ~ my jam recipe is on the back of the fruit pectin box: lots of sugar, crushed fruit, pectin. I do freezer jam, so there is no canning involved. Canning it is easy, though, if you don't have freezer space.)</span></span><br /><br />The kids even enjoyed scraping the seedy pulp out of the food mill and eating it straight. No waste here!<br /><br />My little jam boys needed a bath afterwards, but it was well worth the clean up to see their happy faces slurping up the healthy goodness!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SpWGQbycfyI/AAAAAAAABUc/qGm0cDPqZp8/s1600-h/Little+Jam+Boys.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SpWGQbycfyI/AAAAAAAABUc/qGm0cDPqZp8/s400/Little+Jam+Boys.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374349347231924002" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0); font-style: italic;">Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole </span><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0); font-style: italic;" class="highlight">earth</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0); font-style: italic;"> and every tree that has </span><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0); font-style: italic;" class="highlight">fruit</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0); font-style: italic;"> with seed in it. They will be yours for food." ~Genesis 1:29</span></span><br /></div>Brenda on the S OR Coasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167479739607662663noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97154768059330759.post-77606913663157405402009-08-15T18:36:00.001-07:002009-08-15T18:41:58.501-07:00Tired Family<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:130%;">We are having another great weekend of doing this:<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/Sodiq-c00tI/AAAAAAAABUM/NRUjlCRg3As/s1600-h/D+w+medals.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/Sodiq-c00tI/AAAAAAAABUM/NRUjlCRg3As/s400/D+w+medals.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370369571120534226" border="0" /></a></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">And then we threw in some yard work for good measure this afternoon.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Now we are all feeling like this:<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SodirOq1P8I/AAAAAAAABUU/tHABaaFhFDU/s1600-h/Micah+crashed+on+the+couch.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 313px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SodirOq1P8I/AAAAAAAABUU/tHABaaFhFDU/s400/Micah+crashed+on+the+couch.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370369575474249666" border="0" /></a></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">I really want to start blogging more often! Having swim meets six out of the last ten days has really wiped me out. We're headed into a swim team break, though, and this past Friday marked the end of summer swimming for the younger kids, so I'm hopeful that we are about to slow down a bit and find some kind of routine. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">I'll let you know how that works out... </span><br /><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-style: italic;font-size:130%;" >May the favor of the Lord our God <span class="highlight">rest</span> upon us; establish the <span class="highlight">work</span> of our hands for us-- yes, establish the <span class="highlight">work</span> of our hands. ~Psalm 90:17</span><br /><br /><br /></div>Brenda on the S OR Coasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167479739607662663noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97154768059330759.post-90927787679619884142009-08-13T16:25:00.000-07:002009-08-13T16:26:56.130-07:00Fabric Give Away!<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Free fabric being given away here:</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">http://ihavetosay.typepad.com/randi/2009/08/from-my-stash-to-yours.html</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Enter to win some beautiful designer quilting remnants!</span><br /></div>Brenda on the S OR Coasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167479739607662663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97154768059330759.post-87226687521412512932009-08-03T19:23:00.000-07:002009-08-03T19:42:20.820-07:00Interview with a Two-year-old<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Terrific Twos!<br /><br />This is such a great age! If you don't want to watch the whole thing, at least skip forward to around 50 seconds when he says "hunkleberries." <br /><br /><iframe allowFullScreen='true' webkitallowfullscreen='true' mozallowfullscreen='true' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzPsMvvjRLgcXfnqL95TDNaLBK9TXRw2bCc3CCVCwI-x0sNfnj77ngJmkjjCHUrdEJpDywU8sIRgxf6VrLBwg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' FRAMEBORDER='0' /><br /><br />He keeps us smiling all day long! <br /></span></div>Brenda on the S OR Coasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167479739607662663noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97154768059330759.post-68118580669676873642009-08-02T17:33:00.000-07:002009-08-02T17:36:07.690-07:00Just for fun...<span style="font-size:130%;">Remember when sleeping on the floor was fun?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SnYwhF0b4LI/AAAAAAAABUE/pj4tE5OOu-o/s1600-h/Mary+sleeping+on+the+floor.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 326px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SnYwhF0b4LI/AAAAAAAABUE/pj4tE5OOu-o/s400/Mary+sleeping+on+the+floor.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365529351114449074" border="0" /></a><br /></span><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-style: italic;font-size:130%;" >I will lie down and <span class="highlight">sleep</span> <span class="highlight">in</span> <span class="highlight">peace</span>, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell <span class="highlight">in</span> safety. ~ Psalm 4:8</span><br /></div><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span>Brenda on the S OR Coasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167479739607662663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97154768059330759.post-21030441286216380992009-07-23T16:28:00.000-07:002009-07-23T16:46:20.493-07:00Too Much Cuteness<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Seriously, y'all. Sometimes, it's more than I can handle.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Daniel built a fire in the pit the other night, and Anna lighted it, with lots of careful "supervision."</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/Smj1FmP-KbI/AAAAAAAABT8/xqYghUGdk8k/s1600-h/Lighting+the+fire.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 399px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/Smj1FmP-KbI/AAAAAAAABT8/xqYghUGdk8k/s400/Lighting+the+fire.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361804832900262322" border="0" /></a></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">It made Andrew feel like this when it was time to roast marshmallows.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/Smj1FecoaUI/AAAAAAAABT0/ypClPLCz9ng/s1600-h/happy+Andrew.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 399px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/Smj1FecoaUI/AAAAAAAABT0/ypClPLCz9ng/s400/happy+Andrew.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361804830805879106" border="0" /></a></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">When we ran out of hot dogs, the kids turned to roasting carrots slathered with BBQ sauce. (Which tasted surprisingly good!)</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/Smj08JNDCPI/AAAAAAAABTs/jfdcfA6v_Fg/s1600-h/D+and+M+roasting+carrots.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 399px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/Smj08JNDCPI/AAAAAAAABTs/jfdcfA6v_Fg/s400/D+and+M+roasting+carrots.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361804670484547826" border="0" /></a></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Sometimes, this happens at the end of the day.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/Smj07iZJVvI/AAAAAAAABTk/iDzclLnC5Q8/s1600-h/Micah+riding+Andrew.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 398px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/Smj07iZJVvI/AAAAAAAABTk/iDzclLnC5Q8/s400/Micah+riding+Andrew.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361804660066309874" border="0" /></a></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Which invariably leads to this.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/Smj07JPf2_I/AAAAAAAABTc/mG9B93dvIcU/s1600-h/Micah+sleeping.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 398px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/Smj07JPf2_I/AAAAAAAABTc/mG9B93dvIcU/s400/Micah+sleeping.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361804653314956274" border="0" /></a></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Unless, of course, this happens.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/Smj06yQjt7I/AAAAAAAABTU/w53L8IemlTM/s1600-h/Micah+sleeping+on+the+stairs.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 361px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/Smj06yQjt7I/AAAAAAAABTU/w53L8IemlTM/s400/Micah+sleeping+on+the+stairs.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361804647145387954" border="0" /></a></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">But the very best ending of all is this one.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/Smj06ryKZoI/AAAAAAAABTM/RtjNpwYBNzo/s1600-h/N+and+M+sleeping.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 399px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/Smj06ryKZoI/AAAAAAAABTM/RtjNpwYBNzo/s400/N+and+M+sleeping.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361804645407286914" border="0" /></a>Sometimes, there's more cuteness around here than I can even handle.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Thank you, Lord!!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="javascript:verseResultsPage('bible',%201,%20'ps',%20'Psalms',%20'127',%20'3',%20'NIV')"></a> <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">Sons are a </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 153, 0);" class="highlight">heritage</span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 153, 0);"> from the Lord, </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 153, 0);" class="highlight">children</span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 153, 0);"> a reward from him. ~Psalm 127:3</span></span><br /><br /></div>Brenda on the S OR Coasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167479739607662663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97154768059330759.post-2425651509993816352009-07-21T14:43:00.000-07:002009-07-21T14:54:22.556-07:00Achy Breaky Heart<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:130%;">This is the kitchen table at the house where we lived in SE Washington. I took this picture so that I could show you how cool this table is. It's a bay window pop-out on the back of the house, right next to the kitchen. Really, it's more of a booth than a table, which was so much fun and such a great space saver. I fed the kiddos here at least twice a day, usually three times, as our entire family could actually fit around this table. The very formal dining room was rarely used.<br /><br />I really, truly loved this table.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SmY2p19_JyI/AAAAAAAABSc/25xWJE3Bodw/s1600-h/WA+Kitchen+Table.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SmY2p19_JyI/AAAAAAAABSc/25xWJE3Bodw/s400/WA+Kitchen+Table.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5361032498920761122" border="0" /></a>I know that because when I was looking for blog fodder today and I saw this picture, I was overwhelmed with emotion. My very cheerful mood was swept away by a wave of nausea and sadness.<br /><br />Of course, it's not really the table that makes my heart ache. It's all that it represents: the agonizing death of a dream, the crushing disappointment of unfulfilled hopes, the wasting of such amazing potential.<br /><br />Yeah, it's all still fresher than I'd like it to be. But, surely, in some way, the Lord is using it all for His glory and ultimately for my good. Even if it feels like my life is so upside down right now.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0); font-style: italic;">"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose." ~Romans 8:28</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span></div>Brenda on the S OR Coasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167479739607662663noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97154768059330759.post-20321573375524557412009-07-16T16:38:00.000-07:002009-07-17T14:11:29.570-07:00Summer on the S OR Coast<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:130%;">It's been summer here on the Coast for a few days! Yesterday was something crazy like, maybe, 72 degrees, so the kids wanted to get out the hose and play after swimming lessons. Daniel came up with the idea of using a tarp like a Slip n Slide.<br /><br />As I was holding the sprayer for the sliders, I looked down to see that Micah had decided he wanted to get a drink from the hose. Whew! I'm quite sure there is some theological metaphor in there somewhere. It seemed to make him ridiculously happy, which makes me happy, too.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SmDoTn6ijWI/AAAAAAAABSU/lVNNWMjePTU/s1600-h/Micah+drinking+from+the+hose.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SmDoTn6ijWI/AAAAAAAABSU/lVNNWMjePTU/s400/Micah+drinking+from+the+hose.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359538980400565602" border="0" /></a><br />A good time was had by all!<br /><br /><iframe allowFullScreen='true' webkitallowfullscreen='true' mozallowfullscreen='true' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzhdl8tIN9syQN_mPbZIXc_GB09l9yyOz2vNd2UpFd8NwPSrWmfGP0kuuPjJcWQMk3AvKN__y7h2gxLOak11g' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' FRAMEBORDER='0' /><iframe allowFullScreen='true' webkitallowfullscreen='true' mozallowfullscreen='true' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwLmXypCBUoWxHweFc5YNsd_2CLHY4j7Z_Qrm09q8lBZ2dtMJi4YwX-4878md8897s0pmoeq9cxU9C6MbrNUA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' FRAMEBORDER='0' /><iframe allowFullScreen='true' webkitallowfullscreen='true' mozallowfullscreen='true' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dy9XdPzTW6gUEhdON4xBCqMOqksC0LeBDaJvwhDCSeMuaepl0GI7bUddxPCaJ6LxfBYtBauhuDR-q1nLtBuhA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' FRAMEBORDER='0' /><iframe allowFullScreen='true' webkitallowfullscreen='true' mozallowfullscreen='true' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwxTBa5ZXxuwBPMep7uF1yEYHzg-PEs6zjpsDPuhRrrsAtrgPqkR3g8vDSl_mRXm-TYRZ2J6q2PEu5Et1mMug' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' FRAMEBORDER='0' /><iframe allowFullScreen='true' webkitallowfullscreen='true' mozallowfullscreen='true' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzy4ddqW39BvP3SKNN-134-MSSpWfkAd3eeNFsq61kI85v2BTKFUXJ4t8oZG5AXqZ-Q69tKb1h45PEzPkKK' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' FRAMEBORDER='0' /><iframe allowFullScreen='true' webkitallowfullscreen='true' mozallowfullscreen='true' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwIpNh4O1ZLgB_DHd4cAL_tfdt-VNsNSYIhwfjYhUrnES_GoWyRu79Yov7EcN3ryOL6kTteN6kF7Dltb1TGZA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' FRAMEBORDER='0' /><iframe allowFullScreen='true' webkitallowfullscreen='true' mozallowfullscreen='true' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzzhl8hj97iA7QP5iB1A_rn7s2tyqwLTAzr7RnzJSczjbWwPYaDEoD9IE8HU3LiNeI2Dmts_aclFrRvcqb7Cg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' FRAMEBORDER='0' /><iframe allowFullScreen='true' webkitallowfullscreen='true' mozallowfullscreen='true' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwi3pn1_Bh5t6kLWL0zzISBCRUyby4lbTljnZ7bJLYfLYmQP76XT0jpD2PusRnXRoFCJxydGMOgCl6kTrzi6Q' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' FRAMEBORDER='0' /></span></div>Brenda on the S OR Coasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167479739607662663noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97154768059330759.post-8470007498821434272009-07-14T19:39:00.001-07:002009-07-14T20:04:26.238-07:00Pajama Camp<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Several years ago, when we lived in Gold Beach (also on the S OR Coast) our small children wanted to go camping. I think I was actually pregnant that first year. Somehow, camping seemed an insurmountable task on so many levels.<br /><br />I couldn't imagine packing, loading, setting up camp, keeping little ones safe, preparing and serving and eating food, and then cleaning up. Not to mention SLEEPING, which is hard enough to do at home when pregnant and the mother of a tiny person or three.<br /><br />Then there were the ramifications for the days following - the days of creeky hips and aching back and misery.<br /><br />So, we came up with a compromise which has served us well for at least the past six or seven years.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Pajama Camp</span><br /><br />Those first tender years, we actually drug the mattress from our bed out into the tent in the back yard for the night, which proved a viable compromise. Now days, we have an air mattress. From one year to the next, we always forget that neither of us sleeps when we spend the night on the air mattress. Perhaps next year we will have the foresight to drag the mattress out there again.<br /><br />This is our faithful family tent in the park like setting of our back yard.<br /><br />But, wait! Is that the shadowy figure of a child in the tent?<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/Sl1BygIZDyI/AAAAAAAABSM/ODuNjwwjNVk/s1600-h/PJ+Camp+Tent.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/Sl1BygIZDyI/AAAAAAAABSM/ODuNjwwjNVk/s400/PJ+Camp+Tent.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358511467515154210" border="0" /></a><br />Yes! Yes it is! A PJ Camp newbie of the highest order.<br />"Did you say we're going to sleep in here??"<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/Sl1ByeSgSyI/AAAAAAAABSE/2KCZBD6X9d8/s1600-h/Micah+in+Tent+1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 399px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/Sl1ByeSgSyI/AAAAAAAABSE/2KCZBD6X9d8/s400/Micah+in+Tent+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358511467020700450" border="0" /></a><br />"Yippee!"<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/Sl1Bxzs3DWI/AAAAAAAABR8/GBllbQ6H3lo/s1600-h/Micah+in+Tent+2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/Sl1Bxzs3DWI/AAAAAAAABR8/GBllbQ6H3lo/s400/Micah+in+Tent+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358511455588519266" border="0" /></a><br />Life is good in the family tent.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/Sl1BxTuRp3I/AAAAAAAABR0/gcTIxeNkvd8/s1600-h/Micah+in+Sleeping+Bag.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/Sl1BxTuRp3I/AAAAAAAABR0/gcTIxeNkvd8/s400/Micah+in+Sleeping+Bag.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358511447004522354" border="0" /></a><br />Everyone plays until it is dark enough to fall asleep. (And until the parents grow hoarse from reminding them to stop giggling.)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/Sl1BxLptCvI/AAAAAAAABRs/UVzBHvIbg8I/s1600-h/Kids+in+Tent.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 399px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/Sl1BxLptCvI/AAAAAAAABRs/UVzBHvIbg8I/s400/Kids+in+Tent.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358511444837862130" border="0" /></a>In the end, all the children sleep wonderfully and awaken with joy, glad the warm house with the bathrooms is only a few yards away.<br /><br />Perfect.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-style: italic;"></span><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-style: italic;">Taste and see that the LORD is good; </span><b style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-style: italic;">blessed</b><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-style: italic;"> is the man who takes refuge in him. ~</span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-style: italic;">Psalm 34:8</span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-style: italic;"></span></span><br /></div></div>Brenda on the S OR Coasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167479739607662663noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97154768059330759.post-55037936900883079182009-07-13T18:39:00.001-07:002009-07-13T18:40:29.870-07:00Please, go read<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://meyersonthehood.blogspot.com/2009/07/baloney-sandwich-redux.html">THIS</a>.<br /><br />It's exactly what I needed to read today.<br /><br />Thanks, again, Diane!<br /></span></div>Brenda on the S OR Coasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167479739607662663noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97154768059330759.post-56087614456479429452009-07-13T12:57:00.000-07:002009-07-13T13:07:50.192-07:00From the Pool<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:130%;">For now, this is taking up all our summer time energy:</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><iframe allowFullScreen='true' webkitallowfullscreen='true' mozallowfullscreen='true' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwe1p84vlawgdnS2TyL-PbcnKYu1ah32B7jW5-j5328GYRsOUo908rLa5trzDrTm0E0VBld92NMvRZ2rqXQ4g' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' FRAMEBORDER='0' /></span><br /><br />Okay, well, all of MY summer time energy... they never seem to run out!<br /><br /></div>Brenda on the S OR Coasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167479739607662663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97154768059330759.post-68618007552466414012009-07-12T12:23:00.000-07:002009-07-12T12:32:37.088-07:00Rocket Launch<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:130%;">One of the most fun things we received for Christmas this year was a couple of model rocket kits. Noah and Daniel each have one. <br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;">I think what made this the perfect time for this wonderful gift was the landscape in SE Washington. Here in SW Oregon, we'd have to make a real effort to find a place to launch rockets where they wouldn't be lost in trees and bushes and behind hills. <br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;">Our front yard at Jubilee was a golf driving range and there were essentially no trees in any direction for at least half a mile. It was PERFECT for rocket launches. We enjoyed many!!<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/Slo42-qVC6I/AAAAAAAABRk/lgaKCx_Gkl8/s1600-h/Rocket+Launch1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/Slo42-qVC6I/AAAAAAAABRk/lgaKCx_Gkl8/s400/Rocket+Launch1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357657223895255970" border="0" /></a><br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/Slo42psa1JI/AAAAAAAABRc/M1Y-1xO8JRQ/s1600-h/Rocket+Launch2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/Slo42psa1JI/AAAAAAAABRc/M1Y-1xO8JRQ/s400/Rocket+Launch2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357657218266879122" border="0" /></a><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/Slo4wx6p5SI/AAAAAAAABRU/sydvWFkfEHY/s1600-h/Rocket+Launch3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/Slo4wx6p5SI/AAAAAAAABRU/sydvWFkfEHY/s400/Rocket+Launch3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357657117394855202" border="0" /></a><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/Slo4whc4CMI/AAAAAAAABRM/gDtDZiw9Gqg/s1600-h/Rocket+Launch4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/Slo4whc4CMI/AAAAAAAABRM/gDtDZiw9Gqg/s400/Rocket+Launch4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357657112974985410" border="0" /></a><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/Slo4vpZHJDI/AAAAAAAABRE/2SD2Qwp8UA0/s1600-h/Rocket+Launch5.jpg+-+highlighted.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/Slo4vpZHJDI/AAAAAAAABRE/2SD2Qwp8UA0/s400/Rocket+Launch5.jpg+-+highlighted.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357657097926812722" border="0" /></a><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/Slo4u1mZFsI/AAAAAAAABQ8/EopWPz3pYoQ/s1600-h/Rocket+Launch6.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/Slo4u1mZFsI/AAAAAAAABQ8/EopWPz3pYoQ/s400/Rocket+Launch6.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357657084023871170" border="0" /></a><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/Slo4uROZiiI/AAAAAAAABQ0/z8WECKg91BY/s1600-h/Rocket+Launch7.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/Slo4uROZiiI/AAAAAAAABQ0/z8WECKg91BY/s400/Rocket+Launch7.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5357657074259560994" border="0" /></a>The folks at the Ranch were very interested in the rockets, too. Several of the precious folks there came up to the house to get a better view as the boys launched. The students there even wrote an article about it for the school paper. It made Noah feel like a celebrity! <br /></span></div><br /><div style="text-align: center; font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">(For what it's worth: I want to start blogging again, but am finding it very challenging. I thought I'd just jump in with some very old news and photos and see where things go from here... I know it's a little strange, but bear with me!)<br /></div>Brenda on the S OR Coasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167479739607662663noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97154768059330759.post-46579669811060600142009-05-24T18:36:00.000-07:002009-05-24T18:44:02.382-07:00We're Heeeeere<span style="font-size:130%;">It's been a wild couple of weeks full of company and packing and cleaning and moving and unpacking.<br /><br />It's still very strange to be here, but good to be back in familiar surroundings. The house is going to be great for our family. <br /><br />And we seriously have <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">LOTS</span> of room for company, so come and visit us soon!<br /><br />We've already had our first marshmallow roast on the deck and we fed grilled hot dogs to the amazing group of people who helped us unload our moving truck<span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">s</span></span>. I'm really looking forward to having people over often. It is a great house for entertaining.<br /><br />I can't remember if I blogged it before and I'm too tired to look right now - we've rented and moved into the house where I grew up, lo, those gazillion years ago. This life of ours is never boring!<br /></span>Brenda on the S OR Coasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167479739607662663noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97154768059330759.post-70311875166331781972009-05-11T13:57:00.000-07:002009-05-11T14:32:06.570-07:00Muddy-Frogwater Weekend!<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Saturday was a wild and fun day! We set out in the morning for the Walla Walla Balloon Stampede. Everyone was excited and looking forward to seeing a sky full of hot air balloons on a gorgeous, sunny Saturday. Sadly, when we arrived at 10:00, we learned that the balloons are launched at 6:30 AM... Ack! There was not a balloon to be seen anywhere.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Plan B was to explore the festival activities at the fairgrounds. This involved watching half an hour of country line dancing and a few minutes of belly dancing, SE Washington style... Hmmm. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">After indulging in a tiny bit of "fair food," Roger was inspired!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">We piled back into the van and headed south. My clever husband remembered that he had noticed LOTS of frogs when he had traveled to the little town of <a href="http://www.mfchamber.com/">Milton-Freewater</a>, Oregon, to watch a basketball game. He declared that we were on a Photo-Frog-Scavenger hunt! As it turns out, there are about 40 frogs scattered around town and we set out to find them...</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">A wonderful time was had by all.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Here is our crew of expert frog-spotters:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SgiRaw09u-I/AAAAAAAABQM/iGQwgzknjfE/s1600-h/FW1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SgiRaw09u-I/AAAAAAAABQM/iGQwgzknjfE/s400/FW1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334673647590030306" border="0" /></a></span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Here is a slide show of the 36 frogs we found, along with the adorable spotters.</span><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><iframe allowFullScreen='true' webkitallowfullscreen='true' mozallowfullscreen='true' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwQejrOmkMgoI9TKxyQvhw6rEvs9MeXyUVsMNpkO2NWit0VOHm4Ci-OO6qp26a_eBtik88GlV4ZkKdA9mlB2w' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' FRAMEBORDER='0' /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:130%;">If you're ever in far NE Oregon, I highly recommend a trip to <a href="http://www.mfchamber.com/">Milton-Freewater</a>. It's a beautiful town full of gorgeous old houses, nice parks, friendly people, and LOTS of frogs!</span><br /></div>Brenda on the S OR Coasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167479739607662663noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97154768059330759.post-63523329924362129052009-05-05T08:47:00.000-07:002009-05-05T09:19:26.694-07:00Zip Line<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Yesterday, we had a long-awaited opportunity to ride the zip line here at the Ranch. Daniel wasn't too sure about the whole thing, but in the end, all the kids gave it a go. Considering the climb up the pole and the crazy jump off the platform, I was very proud of all of them!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SgBgxEazz0I/AAAAAAAABQE/TZIXj54CqB0/s1600-h/Daniel+prepping+to+zip.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 399px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SgBgxEazz0I/AAAAAAAABQE/TZIXj54CqB0/s400/Daniel+prepping+to+zip.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332368354922712898" border="0" /></a></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Even little Andrew took a brave turn!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SgBgQ_yJEkI/AAAAAAAABP8/lhcRA4Z01yQ/s1600-h/Andrew+Zipping.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SgBgQ_yJEkI/AAAAAAAABP8/lhcRA4Z01yQ/s400/Andrew+Zipping.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332367803922584130" border="0" /></a></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">The kids reported that this was the scariest part... jumping off...</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SgBf9MJOpZI/AAAAAAAABP0/k0Ysp4lhcqU/s1600-h/noah+preparing+to+zip.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SgBf9MJOpZI/AAAAAAAABP0/k0Ysp4lhcqU/s400/noah+preparing+to+zip.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332367463643260306" border="0" /></a></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">After watching for a while, this little character demanded a Swiss Seat of his own.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SgBf9B2uU0I/AAAAAAAABPs/_XLAk2FMHus/s1600-h/Micah+wanting+a+harness.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 399px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SgBf9B2uU0I/AAAAAAAABPs/_XLAk2FMHus/s400/Micah+wanting+a+harness.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332367460881290050" border="0" /></a></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">He wanted to climb "up there."</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SgBf86Q27HI/AAAAAAAABPk/KMrvz_J66t8/s1600-h/Micah+pointing+at+zip.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 399px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SgBf86Q27HI/AAAAAAAABPk/KMrvz_J66t8/s400/Micah+pointing+at+zip.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332367458843421810" border="0" /></a>He didn't actually climb the pole and zip down, but we did clip him onto the line and let him slide back and forth a bit. He declared it "SCARY" and then was devastated when we took him down. Ah, so good to be two.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">There was also lots of flower picking while waiting for a turn.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SgBf8pg3GII/AAAAAAAABPc/YnlaeTc9bRg/s1600-h/Mary+picking+flowers+at+zip.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SgBf8pg3GII/AAAAAAAABPc/YnlaeTc9bRg/s400/Mary+picking+flowers+at+zip.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332367454347139202" border="0" /></a></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Anna enjoyed the actual daring ride the most, by far. She was crazy brave and zipped several times.</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SgBf8UXMjPI/AAAAAAAABPU/cgnEF0NAAPg/s1600-h/Anna+Zipping.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_KMeLQlKkK9Q/SgBf8UXMjPI/AAAAAAAABPU/cgnEF0NAAPg/s400/Anna+Zipping.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332367448669457650" border="0" /></a></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">All in all, it was a GREAT time. The kids would have stayed and zipped all day long. Even the reluctant riders wanted to try again after watching for a while. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Noah zipped several times and I finally got a video, in spite of my camera's uncooperative afternoon. So much fun!</span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowFullScreen='true' webkitallowfullscreen='true' mozallowfullscreen='true' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxkwGVTVrqU7KZorbjHQbsee5ycqzdyC-_Zub_yUAeFjXbgr_f_o2MG4__5ElMrjlIcIqFChPy5QEvkgu1jQQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' FRAMEBORDER='0' /><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:130%;">God's grace in the midst of crazy times. He is so very good!</span><br /></div>Brenda on the S OR Coasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167479739607662663noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97154768059330759.post-82793944454686081222009-04-23T14:05:00.000-07:002009-04-23T14:12:31.669-07:00Starting Over... Again...<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:130%;">There is so much to catch up on. And right now, blogging seems like it should be pretty low on my priority list. But I wanted to be sure to mention that we are moving. Again. Back to the Southern Oregon Coast.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">There is so much I could write about this. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">We are so very disappointed. And, yet, we can see the tremendous way God has protected us in keeping a place for us back where we came from. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">We are fully confident that God will work all things together for our good. Just as He promised. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Currently, I need to keep cramming things into boxes and cleaning and making plans, all the while keeping my precious, very excited, little ones fed and clothed and safe and happy.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Sometimes, I think it's better if I don't write it all down... Yikes!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">OH, and just a footnote to The Winter of Crazy Illnesses: Roger developed an ear infection last week and about 18 hours from when it started to hurt, his ear drum ruptured. If you call to offer him sympathy, be sure he's not holding the phone to his deaf ear. =) </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">There's so much more to tell, but I'm not quite ready. I'll keep you posted.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Blessings,</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Brenda, Queen of the Nomads</span><br /></div>Brenda on the S OR Coasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167479739607662663noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97154768059330759.post-42105585645312027522009-03-06T17:19:00.000-08:002009-03-06T17:25:19.673-08:00Video on Demand<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:130%;">So, I realized a couple of days ago that it was my one year Blogiversary! And I wondered what I should do about it...</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">I finally came up with this idea. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">For my one year Blogiversary gift, I would love to receive a comment from YOU! And, as a fun twist, I'm inviting your video requests. Let me know if there is a question you would like me to answer, or a child you would like to see perform... or if you would prefer I link to something more interesting, like Cletus Take the Reel, or the Barbecue Song.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Blogging this past year has really been a fun thing. I hope to become more consistent again, now that the crazy move has been made and Winter is almost over and the kids are not in the hospital and the roof is not leaking and, and, well, you know... Surely, we're in for a quiet spell!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Thank you to all of you who have joined me on my blogging journey. I would love to know how you found my little corner of the web, if you'd like to share!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Blessings!</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">~Brenda</span><br /></div>Brenda on the S OR Coasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167479739607662663noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-97154768059330759.post-47744237342468827742009-03-06T10:57:00.001-08:002009-03-06T10:59:46.964-08:00More Video Fun!<iframe allowFullScreen='true' webkitallowfullscreen='true' mozallowfullscreen='true' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzlyDIPD0byBxUeW53q8DgYICZYCK8md64ZbR7Dz2osS58TMUxNhb_IfT4rKFKnxbnj2UeJHWBOrlB4s8KW8w' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' FRAMEBORDER='0' />Brenda on the S OR Coasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10167479739607662663noreply@blogger.com1